Jazz: A form of Art

Music is an incredibly expressive form of art and it is present in every culture around the world, it has been there since the first primitive civilization. It comes in many different types and forms. One form that I admire is Jazz. Last week I went to a Jazz concert. It took place on Thursday, April 3rd at 7pm. It was hosted in the Brooklyn Central Library in Park Slope. I was really lucky because I have got a chance to see Ben Allison whose record was just at the very top of Jazz charts. The rest of the band included Ron Horton who played the Trumpet, Michael Blake, saxophone; Steve Cardenas, Guitar; and Mike Sarin, who was the drummer. The concert was literarily “music to my ears.”

The Concert was really unbelievable. The audience was fairly small which really surprised me, maybe because it was in the middle of the week. The music was flowing, it had a rhythm. It made me forget about everything around me, I just sat there and could not take my eyes off of the band. In addition to the great entertainment that they provided the group was also humorous. Ben Allison especially, he told a couple of jokes that made everybody laugh. This created a friendly family atmosphere in the auditorium. There was also this little boy that sat in the first row with his dad. As the band was playing he was moving left and right, clearly enjoying the performance. It was not a long concert, it took about an hour from start to finish, originally they were scheduled to play for about forty minutes, but everyone encouraged them to keep going and they did.

For me personally two songs stood out in their performance. The first song is called “Language of Love” and it was written by the guitarist, Steve Cardenas. The song starts off slowly and only with string instruments and percussion. Later they are reinforced by the trumpet and guitar, which come in playing the same notes. We then see an amazing solo performance by Ben Allison. An interesting observation that I made is how those guys “live” the music. Ron Horton, while standing on the side, moved his head to the rhythm of the music. I think that was very intriguing. Then at the end the saxophone joins the rest of the band. Another piece of music that I will not forget for a long time is “Cowboy Justice.” It was simply a mess. At first the band began to play as if they have never played together before, but of course, that was on purpose. The sounds were disjointed. It began with the drummer doing a solo and then at one point everyone else joins him. That song will stay in my head because it brought back the old days. It reminded me of West Side Story, in particular the fight between the two gangs; similar type of music was played in the background then.

The Jazz Concert at Brooklyn Central Library was a great experience. It was nice to be able to see top quality jazz without having to travel far. I went there with a classmate and my girlfriend and all three of us had a good time. I wrote down the name of the album that the band released (“Real Things Run the World”) because I plan to purchase it soon. If you have a chance to go don’t even think about it just go and take someone with you.